Utopia (Owarai)
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Utopia (Owarai)
Utopia is the name of a veteran Japanese Owarai comedy duo. The members are nicknamed ''Hope'' and ''Peace'' as a result. They debuted in 1978 and grew famous with a skit about a teacher and student played by Hope and Peace respectively, where the teacher convinces the student to hold the end of a long rubber band in his mouth while the teacher pulls back and releases it slapstick-style. They are considered veterans in the industry; their recent appearance in the movie ''Trick 2'' illustrates the cult-like following of their career and catch phrase: "Yoroshiku Ne!" Hope Mitsuyoshi Jogo (born October 24, 1949, in Fukuoka, Japan) is the leader. He currently works as an actor in various television dramas, and as a tarento-style reporter on documentary and variety shows. He also writes a column in the Japanese magazine FLASH EX called ''よろしくね教ホープ教祖に聞け!連載''/''Yoroshiku ne Kyo''. Peace Shinichi Hoashi (born March 9, 1955, in Ōita Prefecture, Japan ...
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ...
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Owarai
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word ''owarai'' is the honorific form of the word ''warai'' (by adding o- prefix), meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". ''Owarai'' is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as ''owarai'' '' geinin'' or ''owarai tarento''. Presently Japan is considered to be in an "''owarai'' boom", and many minor talents have been finding sudden fame after a gag or skit became popular. Characteristics Manzai (), a traditional form of Japanese comedy that became the basis of many modern acts today, is characterized by a pair of usually older male comedians acting certain roles in a constant comedic battle against themselves. This tradition is continued in the acts of many modern talents. While there are many women talents, they are largely outnumbered by the men, and they tend to take more minor roles. Whereas ''manzai'' performers traditionally wore kimono (traditional Japanese dress), the ...
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Trick (TV Series)
''Trick'' comprises a comedic Japanese television drama and movie series (three seasons, four movies, and three feature-length TV specials), as well as associated comic books, novelizations and meta-fiction novels about a failed magician and an arrogant physicist who debunks fraudulent spiritualists. It stars Hiroshi Abe (actor), Hiroshi Abe and Yukie Nakama and is shown on TV Asahi (digital TV channel 5). It was created by Japanese director Yukihiko Tsutsumi and produced by Toho. Synopsis Although 23-year-old Naoko Yamada (Yukie Nakama) considers herself a beautiful and talented magician, she is continuously fired and constantly hounded by her landlady for the rent being late. Before firing her, her manager shows Yamada an ad for a physics professor, Jiro Ueda (Hiroshi Abe (actor), Hiroshi Abe), a non-believer of all things magical, offering money to anyone who can prove to him that magic is real. Desperately needing the money, Naoko accepts the challenge, which is how she co ...
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Fukuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, Kumamoto Prefecture to the south, and Ōita Prefecture to the southeast. Fukuoka is the capital and largest city of Fukuoka Prefecture, and the largest city on Kyūshū, with other major cities including Kitakyushu, Kurume, and Ōmuta, Fukuoka, Ōmuta. Fukuoka Prefecture is located at the northernmost point of Kyūshū on the Kanmon Straits, connecting the Tsushima Strait and Seto Inland Sea across from Yamaguchi Prefecture on the island of Honshu, and extends south towards the Ariake Sea. History Fukuoka Prefecture includes the Old provinces of Japan, former provinces of Chikugo Province, Chikugo, Chikuzen Province, Chikuzen, and Buzen Province, Buzen. Shrines and temples Kōra taisha, Sumiyoshi-jinja, ...
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Tarento
Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "talents" and were distinguished from production crews, which were seen as having more technical than charismatic talents. Careers Japanese television programs often feature these media personalities. Many, sometimes dozens at a time, are called in to take part in these prime time shows. Their participation in these programs varies greatly and includes performing, voicing opinions, mimicking fellow celebrities in a practice called ''monomane'', taking part in game shows, joking or just being present for the entire duration of the show (known as being part of the "gallery"). While it is very common for ''tarento'' to appear in serious Japanese television drama or movies, they are distinguished from mainstream actors by the fact that, where an ...
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Ōita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumamoto Prefecture to the southwest, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the south. Ōita is capital and largest city of Ōita Prefecture, with other major cities including Beppu, Nakatsu, and Saiki. Ōita Prefecture is located in the northeast of Kyūshū on the Bungo Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Ōita Prefecture is famous for its hot springs and is a popular tourist destination in Japan for its '' onsens'' and '' ryokans'', particularly in and around the city of Beppu. History Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi Province, Hi Province, Kumaso Province and Toyo Province. Toyo Province was later divided into two regions, upper and ...
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V-cinema
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets. Because inferior sequels or prequels of larger-budget films may be released direct-to-video, review references to direct-to-video releases are often pejorative. Direct-to-video release has also become profitable for independent filmmakers and smaller companies. Some direct-to-video genre films (with a high-profile star) can generate well in excess of $50 million revenue worldwide. Reasons for releasing direct to video A production studio may decide not to generally release a TV show or film for several possible reasons: a low budget, a lack of support from a TV network, negative reviews, its controversial nature, that it may appeal to a small nic ...
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